The XB-15 50 cal nose turret

[Duggy009]

Going through photos
And in some the turret is at the 12 o'clock position, & in others at 6 o'clock ??
Was this possible in the original design, or did they change the nose to test the best position. etc
Close up

12 o'clock

6 o'clock

And again at the New York Worlds Fair of 1939, the Aquabelles and Army Air Corps officers pose on the wing of Boeing's experimental XB-15

Most of the rest I have seen are at 12o'clock.
Thanks in advance.
Regards Duggy

[shrike]

The whole cone could turn. Note the black handles locks in the top picture.

[Duggy009]

The whole cone could turn. Note the black handles locks in the top picture.

Thank you Sir.
Next Q then, could the cone be swivelled in flight, & 2nd question why was the turret so designed ??
And any other info, would be greatly apprieciated.
Regards Duggy.

[JohnB]

2nd question why was the turret so designed ??

They were making it up as they went along.
Enclosed turrets were a fairly recent innovation (first used on the B-10s) they were trying all sorts of ideas to see what worked.

The new B-18/B-23 book talks a bit about the defensive armaments, and UK bombers of the same time period were also doing a lot of experimentation.
I believe there are some UK books on the subject.

[shrike]

Like the gentleman said, they were making up as they went.

Strictly speaking it's not a turret, it's a streamlined flexible gun mount. It's not powered, and yes it could move in use in flight.

The Fw-189 had something similar in the tail position.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bhAK6J4bhyk
At about 2:45

[merKar]

[eze240]

I suspect alot of the reason they did away with that style nose was due to it's complexity and without a powered drive it was probably difficult to turn in flight....especially in combat conditions.
Imagine trying to sight that gun on a target in flight....it looks difficult to see anywhere but straight down the barrel, probably weighed a ton and it probably doesn't have much more effective flexibility than the setup used later on B-17E' s and F' s....

[Tripehound]

It was very difficult to stay behind the gun when moved to extreme angles, meaning the sights couldn't be used in those positions. Moving the pivot point of the gun allowed the gunner to stay behind the sights. The Germans used this a lot in WW2. If I remember, the 1969 movie "Battle of Britain" showed guns operated this way.

[Taigh Ramey]

Going through photos ...



Regards Duggy

Only a true turret nerd would notice one in this photo. Welcome to the fold.

[Duggy009]

Going through photos ...



Regards Duggy

Only a true turret nerd would notice one in this photo. Welcome to the fold.

Thanks very funny.
Moving on
I presume then that the 229, had the same ability, & yet she flew 2 years prior to th XB-15.
But I have never seen the gun mount in the 6 o'clock position.



So if this is the case, and the gun mount could be put at the 6 o'clock position.
I think some history books need to be updated !!
LOL Duggy

[shrike]

I presume then that the 229, had the same ability, & yet she flew 2 years prior to th XB-15.
But I have never seen the gun mount in the 6 o'clock position. Duggy

That may just be the proper stowed position, and you won't find pictures of it unstowed unless it's on a gunnery exercise.

Conversely, you never see restored B-17's displayed on the ground with the chin turret in the proper stowed position. (full right traverse and max elevation so the guns can be withdrawn if necessary)

[Duggy009]

I presume then that the 229, had the same ability, & yet she flew 2 years prior to th XB-15.
But I have never seen the gun mount in the 6 o'clock position. Duggy

That may just be the proper stowed position, and you won't find pictures of it unstowed unless it's on a gunnery exercise.

Conversely, you never see restored B-17's displayed on the ground with the chin turret in the proper stowed position. (full right traverse and max elevation so the guns can be withdrawn if necessary)

Thanks I always wondered why? (full right traverse and max elevation so the guns can be withdrawn if necessary)
Of course makes sense.
My thinking about the 299 was that if the turret was at 6'o'clock it would make it the first with a "chin turret".
Regards Duggy

[hahnej]

I find the whole nose assembly to be a work of industrial art. Imagine fabricating that.

[Tiger Tim]

I find the whole nose assembly to be a work of industrial art. Imagine fabricating that.

Imagine maintaining that enormous ring of rollers in service. I can't picture it doing much more than binding and chattering whenever you tried to rotate it.